Selenium Assessment in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Guide for Hazard Evaluation and Water Quality Criteria

167 Pages·2002·4.06 MB·English

by  A. Dennis Lemly (auth.)

SPRINGER SERIES ON
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
E.
DAVID ALEXANDER
Series Editor
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Springer Series on Environmental Management
David E. Alexander, Series Editor
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(continued after index)
A. Dennis Lemly
US Forest Service
Southern Research Station
Coldwater Fisheries Research Unit
Blacksburg, Virginia
USA
Selenium
Assessment
in Aquatic
Ecosystems
A Guide for Hazard Evaluation
and Water Quality Criteria
i
Springer
A. Dennis Lemly
US Forest Service
Southern Research Station
Coldwater Fisheries Research Unit
1650 Rambie Road
Blacksburg, VA 24060
USA
[email protected]
SerÎes Editor:
David E. Alexander
Department of Geology and Geography
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
USA
Cover photo: An illustration of the "Hydrological Unit" (HU) principle. Image by A. Dennis Lemly.
Page 109.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lemly, A. Dennis.
Selenium assessment in aquatic ecosystems : a guide for hazard
evaluation and water quality criteria 1 A. Dennis Lemly
p. cm.-(Springer series on environmental management)
Includes bibliographical references (p.).
ISBN 978-1-4612-6549-8 ISBN 978-1-4613-0073-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4613-0073-1
1. Selenium-Environmental aspects. 2.Water quality-measurement.
1. Title. II. Series.
QH545.S45 L465 2002 1998
577 .6'275724-dc21 2001049268
Printed on acid-free paper.
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc in 2002
Softcover reprint of the hardcover lst edition 2002
AlI rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the
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Typeset by KP Company, Brooklyn, NY.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-1-4612-6549-8
This book is dedicated to the environmental
contaminant specialists, field biologists, scientists, and
natural resource managers who, despite formidable
challenges from opposing interests, have steadfastly
toiled to shine the light of truth on selenium pollution
issues in order to gain protection for aquatic habitats.
Series Preface
This series is concerned with humanity's stewardship of the environ
ment, our use of natural resources, and the ways in which we can
mitigate environmental hazards and reduce risks. Thus it is concerned
with applied ecology in the widest sense of the term, in theory and in
practice, and above all in the marriage of sound principles with prag
matic innovation. It focuses on the definition and monitoring of envi
ronmental problems and the search for solutions to them at scales that
vary from the global to the local according to the scope of analysis. No
particular academic discipline dominates the series, for environmental
problems are interdisciplinary almost by definition. Hence a wide va
riety of specialties are represented, from oceanography to economics,
sociology to silviculture, toxicology to policy studies.
In the modern world, increasing rates of resource use, population
growth, and armed conflict have tended to magnify and complicate
environmental problems that were already difficult to solve a century
ago. Moreover, attempts to modify nature for the benefit of human
kind have often had unintended consequences, especially in the dis
ruption of natural equilibria. Yet, at the same time, human ingenuity
has been brought to bear in developing a new range of sophisticated
and powerful techniques for solving environmental problems, for ex
ample, pollution monitoring, restoration ecology, landscape planning,
risk managment, and impact assessment. Books in this series will shed
light on the problems of the modern environment and contribute to
the further development of the solutions. They will contribute to the
immense effort by ecologists of all persuasions to nurture an environ
ment that is both stable and productive.
David E. Alexander
Amherst, Massachusetts
vii
Preface
Today's natural resource managers must respond to a wide array of
challenges that threaten to disrupt the biological integrity and
sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. Nowhere is this more evident than
in the challenges brought on by environmental contaminants. Notable
among these pollutants is selenium, a naturally occurring trace ele
ment that can be concentrated and released in the waste materials
from certain agricultural, petrochemical, mining, and industrial ac
tivities. Once in the aquatic environment, selenium can rapidly
bioaccumulate and reach levels that are toxic to fish and wildlife. Over
the past 20 years this threat has become a reality at several locations
across the United States. Two examples are Belews Lake, NC, where
19 species of fish were eliminated due to selenium discharged from a
coal-fired power plant, and Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, CA,
where thousands of migratory waterbirds were poisoned by selenium
in agricultural irrigation drainage. During the last decade, cases of
selenium contamination have emerged on a global scale. Argentina,
Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Greece, India, and Russia are just a
few of the locations where aquatic habitats have been impacted.
This escalation in selenium issues has prompted increased efforts to
identify and characterize toxic hazards and to develop water quality
criteria. The success of these efforts depends on having technically
sound, selenium-specific procedures and methods that can be applied
across a wide range of habitat types and environmental conditions. I
have spent the past 20 years engaged in the development and testing
of methods and guidelines for selenium assessment, beginning with
field studies that led to new US water quality criteria for selenium in
the mid-1980s, and culminating with the recent completion of a pro
cedure for setting aquatic ecosystem loading limits. The interest in this
information is growing rapidly. During the past 3 years, I have re
ceived over 500 requests for assistance on a variety of selenium issues
from 64 countries around the world. Until now, I have only been able
to provide assistance on a piecemeal basis, since no single publication
ix
x Preface
has covered all of my hazard assessment and water quality procedures
for selenium. This book brings the information together into a compre
hensive guide for characterizing hazards and deriving water quality
criteria. It is intended for all those involved in the evaluation and
resolution of aquatic selenium problems-from field biologists, envi
ronmental contaminant specialists, and research scientists to risk as
sessors, environmental planners, natural resource managers, and water
quality regulators. In addition to the core material on hazard assess
ment and water quality, there is an opening chapter that describes the
primary causes of selenium pollution and gives a sample of locations
where fish and wildlife populations have been affected, and a closing
chapter which discusses emerging selenium contamination issues that
biologists and aquatic resource managers need to be aware of. Al
though some of the chapters have a context of the United States and its
Environmental Protection Agency, the guidelines and methods in the
book are not limited to that context. They can be applied just as well in
Australia, China, and Egypt. The underlying processes that must be
addressed for accurate hazard assessment and development of water
quality criteria are consistent around the world. I welcome feedback
from those using the book to aid in gauging its effectiveness and evalu
ating the need to modify a procedure or develop new techniques.
As society moves forward in the new millennium, there will be a
substantial increase in activities that mobilize selenium in the envi
ronment. Protecting aquatic ecosystems from these threats will be more
difficult, yet more necessary, than ever before. Equipped with the proper
assessment techniques, investigators can identify, diagnose, and re
spond to selenium problems before they become widespread toxic epi
sodes. I hope this book will be a useful tool in those efforts, and will
provide the technical guidance necessary to make environmentally
sound resource management decisions for aquatic habitats.
A. Dennis Lemly
Blacksburg, Virginia
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Dr. David Alexander, who, through his invitation to
contribute to the Springer Series on Environmental Management, stimu
lated my interest in preparing this book. Three individuals deserve
special thanks. Drs. Steven J. Hamilton, Joseph P. Skorupa, and Gre
gory J. Smith broadened my perspective and helped frame the proper
ecological context for aquatic hazard assessment of selenium. Their
many thoughtful discussions over the years, both directly with me and
through their research publications, have had a substantial influence
on the assessment techniques I developed and included in the book. It
has been my good fortune to share their friendship and professional
expertise. I am indebted to the Department of Biology at Wake Forest
University for facilities and technical support that allowed me to in
vestigate the landmark selenium pollution event at Belews Lake, N. C.
In particular, the assistance of Michael Riggs and John Foil, Jr., came at a
pivotal time and produced field data which became the cornerstone for
understanding selenium bioaccumulation and toxicity in fish. This book
has its roots in the wealth of information that resulted from the Belews
Lake episode. Finally, I thank Janet Slobodien for her help in obtaining
peer reviews and organizing and editing the book. The Media Production
Service'S Photo Graphics Lab at Virginia Tech University prepared the pho
tographs used as illustrations in Chapter 3.
xi
Contents
Series Preface............................................................................. ...... vii
Preface .............................................................................................. ix
Acknowledgments ............................................................................ xi
I. Selenium Sources, Concentrations,
SECTION
and Biological Effects
1. Selenium Pollution Around the World ...................................... 3
2. Interpreting Selenium Concentrations ...................................... 18
3. Toxic Effects of Selenium in Fish ...... .......... .......... ............ ......... 39
II. Techniques for Evaluating Hazard
SECTION
4. Protocol for Aquatic Hazard Assessment .................................... 61
5. Teratogenic Deformity Index for Fish ........................................ 89
III. Applying Hazard Evaluation
SECTION
to Water Quality Criteria
6. Hydrological Units and Selenium Criteria ................................ 103
7. Developing Site-Specific Water Quality Criteria ....................... 114
8. Setting Ecosystem Loading Limits .............................................. 134
IV. Outlook for the Future
SECTION
9. Emerging Selenium Contamination Issues ............................... 145
Index ................................................................................................. 155
xiii